


Still Into You

by qweeneevee



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Akaashi Keiji is Bad at Feelings, Bokuto Koutarou is a Good Friend, F/M, First Dates, Fluff and Humor, Fukuroudani, High School, Jealousy, Love, Love Triangles, Mutual Pining, Teen Romance, Texting, Volleyball
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 12:35:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28974462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qweeneevee/pseuds/qweeneevee
Summary: “I’m doing this for you!”“...When?”“....When what?”“When was the last time you did something for me?”~Third year Airi Tachibana has just moved back to Japan from America, and her biggest fear is that everyone has friends but her. Would anyone even be interested in being her friend? Her worries are soon relieved when she gets seated next to Koutarou Bokuto, who instantly claims her as his "newbie" friend. Upon getting introduced to his friend, Keiji Akaashi, sparks between her and Akaashi fly immediately. Seeing this budding romance and the opportunity to make his best friend happy, Bokuto decides to take it upon himself to become Airi's wingman. However, will Bokuto spending all this time with Airi help her win Akaashi's heart, or will Akaashi just see it as his best friend stealing his crush?
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Original Female Character(s), Bokuto Koutarou/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 4





	1. Owl Be Your Friend

**Author's Note:**

> Airi (our main character) has a lot of internal dialogue. Anything that is said in her head will be in italics.

The incessant buzzing of her alarm clock sent Airi jolting up from her sleep. It wasn’t the alarm that startled her, per say, but rather the fact that it shook her so much to begin with. She wondered to herself why she was so jumpy today. Was she nervous? Couldn’t be. Sure, it was her first day at a new school, but it’s not like it was her first time changing schools. After moving from Japan to America, and now back to Japan, being the “new kid” was nothing new. Still, she couldn’t get the pit out of her stomach.

_Why am I such a ball of nerves today?_

Nonetheless, there was no time to ponder such silly feelings. Airi got dressed, ate breakfast, gathered her things, and started her walk to her new school.

The commute was pretty easy, no crazy turns or anywhere she could get lost, and before she knew it, the sight of groups of students wearing the same uniform as her she gave the reassurance that she had made it with no problems. 

Airi felt the pit in her stomach once more, reminding her that maybe it never really left. As she walked closer and closer to the building, Airi couldn’t help but notice that most people were walking in groups, and her true fear became clear.

Everyone has friends but me. Oh, don’t be silly Airi, you’ll make friends… Then again, I’m going into my 3rd year, everyone has established their friend groups already…

_...Is anyone going to want to be my friend?_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Airi silently made her way to the entrance of Fukurodani Academy and found her way to her classroom. She stayed at the front of the class as the students around her walked to their seats, seemingly passing through her.

_It's like I’m not even here…_

As if the universe was giving her a gentle reminder that she was not in fact invisible, Airi felt someone bump into her. She began to let out an apology, but before she could let out a single word, the boy spoke first.

“Oh my bad! Didn’t see ya there!”

_Of course he didn't._

Before Airi could reply out loud, he continued.

“Oh hey, I don’t know you! Are you-”

Before he could finish, the teacher entered class and instructed everyone to take their seats. Everyone did so quickly without a word.

_Creepy._

Airi stayed at the front of the class as the teacher spoke.

“Alright class, I want to start off today by introducing a new student. This is Airi Tachibana, and she just moved here from America, so I hope you will all welcome her to Fukurodani. Would you like to say a few words, Miss Tachibana?”

Suddenly all eyes were on Airi. She definitely wasn’t invisible anymore. This part was easy though. Changing schools a few times before this meant Airi had this “new kid”: script down. She bowed her head and spoke.

“Hi everyone, I’m Airi Tachibana. I’m excited to be here and hope we can all be friends!”

_Ugh that sounded so fake. We’re not in kindergarten. Airi._

“Oh and I just moved from America, but I was born in Japan and lived here shortly before now, so I can speak Japanese and English!”

_Was that obvious? I’m speaking Japanese right now, but they were probably confused right?_

Airi’s thoughts were interrupted by her teacher's words. “Thank you, Airi, you can take your seat. There is one desk in the back, next to Mr. Bokuto.”

Airi looked to the back of the room and saw the empty desk, and began walking towards it. A hand shot up from the desk next to it, waving around like crazy. It was the same boy from before. His white and black hair spiked up, and an excited expression across his face. He was certainly an interesting character.

_He knows I can see the desk right? It's the only open one in the room. With that look, I wouldn’t need too much help spotting him either._

Airi took her seat next to his as the teacher began the lesson. Airi stayed alert and focused, she enjoyed school, but it couldn’t have been more than 10 minutes into the lecture when a whisper coming from her right ear caused Airi to slowly lose focus.

“Hey… hey newbie! Psssssssssst!” It was him. This went on for what seemed like several minutes before Airi gave in.

“Yes?” She finally replied, also in whisper.

“I just wanted to fully apologize for bumping into you earlier, newbie.”

“I have a name you know.”

“No way, me too!”

_Oh boy._

“But yours is Airi Tachibana, and mine is Koutarou Bokuto!”

“Well it's nice to meet you, Bokuto-san.”

“San? So formal! Well you definitely have to meet Akaa-”

Bokuto’s sentence was cut off by the teacher. “Mr Bokuto, unless you would like to teach today's lesson, I would prefer you keep your personal discussions for your own time, not mine”

He apologized and then leaned over to Airi one more time and whispered, “Let’s talk more after class!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The day finally ended and everyone was dismissed, the teacher stopped Airi on her way out and said, “I apologize if Mr Bokuto caused a disruption to you during class, I can certainly move your seat if you would like.”

Airi thought to herself for a moment, and replied, “Oh it is not a problem, I don’t mind staying there.”

The teacher nodded and Airi exited the class. As she walked through the halls, she had another strange feeling. No,it wasn’t strange. She just felt...relieved? Here she thought she was going to go through the year without a soul to talk to, but in an instant that fear had been erased by a spiky haired, overly energetic boy.

_Why am I smiling?_

Once again, her thoughts were interrupted by that familiar voice.

“HEY HEY HEY NEWBIEEEEE!”

“You know I would really prefer if you just used my name-”

Bokuto continued like he hadn’t heard a word.

“Man newbie, getting grilled by the teach and having to talk with her after class on the first day? Sounds pretty rough!” 

His face suddenly shifted from very happy to very sad, it was kind of alarming how fast the mood shift occurred.

“Uhh… I guess its all my fault you got in trouble huh...”

Thrown off by his sudden change in mood, Airi continued “She didn’t uhh….”grill me”.....she just asked if I wanted to change seats.” Bokuto’s sad face seemed to get worse, and Airi thought he might cry, so she quickly added, “I uh, said no by the way!”

Then, in another second like it had before, his mood shifted right back to happy as ever. “ALL RIGHT!!! Had me scared there for a second newbie!”

“Scared?”

“Heck yeah scared! Thought I was gonna lose my new friend on the first day!”

_….Friend?_

Airi couldn’t help but smile, and she let out a little laugh. Bokuto seemed very pleased

“You are quite interesting, Koutarou Bokuto.”

“What can I say? I am pretty amazing, I'm glad you could see tha-”

Once again, Bokuto was cut off, but this time, it was someone new.

“Bokuto-san!”

Airi and Bokuto both turned to see a tall thin boy standing next to them. His dark hair was slightly ruffed, and his breath was heavy, like he had just been running, presumably because he was looking for Bokuto.

“Bokuto-san,” he repeated, “I've been looking everywhere for you where have you-”

“Akaaaaaashi, can’t you see I’m having a conversation with my new friend?”

The boy, looking confused said, “New frien-” but froze as he turned to face Airi.

Airi also froze upon meeting his gaze. In an instant, it seemed like time had slowed down, and she had just entered a scene from one of those cheesy romance novels.

_What is this feeling?_

“Oh yeah this is my new friend, did I mention she’s a newbie? Her name is...” Bokuto began to speak, but stopped himself as soon as he realized no one was listening.

Still trapped in each other’s gaze, the boy found a way to speak first.

“Uh..We haven’t met before have we? My name is Keiji Akaashi. ”

“Im Airi Tachibana. No we haven't.”

Akaashi extended his hand. “Well, its a pleasure to meet you.”

“Oh the pleasure is all mine,” Airi said, accepting his handshake.

_Girl who SAYS that? Someone in the 1700s?_

Airi felt her cheeks get warm. It threw her off for a second. Was she sick? Embarrassed? No, none of those fit. 

_Uhm, Earth to Airi? You can let go of his hand now!_

After a moment of silence, Bokuto cut in with a suave, bragging voice, “Oh yeah newbie over here is my super cool friend who just moved here from America. That’s right, I have super cool foreign friends now. Isn't that cool Akaashi? Huh? Huh? Huh?” Bokuto said, jabbing Akaashi in the stomach with his elbow.

The contact seemed to shake Akaashi from his trance, and he finally felt like he could move again and looked over at Bokuto,remembering why he was even there. “That’s great Bokuto-san, but were going to be late if we don't go right now”

Bokuto snapped out of his persona. “Oh yeah! Lets go Kaashi!” He grabbed Akaashi’s arm and dragged him off in the opposite direction. “BYEEEEE NEWBIEEEEEE” he called out as they ran.

Airi waved and called back, “THAT'S NOT MY NAMEEEEEEEE!” She let out another laugh and a sigh before she began her walk home. She never would have imagined that she would’ve made a friend on day one, but the thought of that hardly crossed her mind before it became flooded with a whole other dilemma.

“What just happened?” Airi thought to herself.

“What just happened?” Akaashi thought to himself.

“...What just happened?” Bokuto thought to himself.


	2. O Captain, My Captain

Bokuto, still pulling Akaashi by the arm, led the two of them at top speed across school to make it to the gym. Even at top Bokuto speed, it was obvious that they were going to be a few minutes late to practice and have to explain to their coach and the rest of the team why on earth both the captain and vice captain of their team were not there on time. Bokuto didn’t break a sweat at the thought. Akaashi was sweating buckets.

The duo burst through the doors of the gym, where the rest of the Fukurodani Volleyball Team had already begun practice. 

“WE’RE SORRY WE’RE LATE!” Bokuto and Akaashi exclaimed. Immediately the gym fell silent and all eyes were on them. The rest of the team dropped what they were doing and ran over.

“There you guys are! We were starting to think you ditched or something!’ said their libero, Haruki Komi.

Bokuto laughed, “C'mon guys, did you really think your team captain AND vice captain would skip practice?”

“No, we wouldn’t put it past you,” replied wing spiker, Akinori Konoha. “However it was quite concerning that Akaashi was not here.”

“WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!” Bokuto shouted.

“Konoha said he was going to take over if you didn’t show,” another team member, Tatsuki Washio, added bluntly.

Konoha smirked. “I mean if you guys were another 10 minutes late, I would’ve legally been allowed to take over as captain.”

“That is definitely not how that works” Akaashi replied.

Konoha’s bickering was interrupted by their coach, urging them to quit chatting and actually start practice. From there, the boys took their positions and began practicing spiking drills.

Bokuto was hitting spike after spike, a perfect shot every time. 

“ALL RIGHT!” he shouted happily. “AM I ON A ROLL TODAY OR WHAT?”

“Brilliant as always, Bokuto-san” Akaashi encouraged with a smile.

Konoha interjected, “I’d never be the first to say it, but you really are on your game today bud. Not to jinx anything either, but you seem to be in a great mood today. You get laid or something?”

Bokuto laughed, “Nothing like that, just having a great day I guess. Can’t help that I’ve been blessed by the volleyball gods a little extra today.”

“I heard you were talking to the new foreign girl in your class,” Washio added, seemingly out of nowhere. It seemed word really did travel quickly at this school

“Oooooh Washio, when did you become the disher of hot gossip?” Konoha teased. “I’m gonna lose my job at this rate.”

Bokuto cut in, “So what if I was? Does it matter that much?”

“Of course it does!” Komi interjected, “We can’t lose our captain if he gets a new girlfriend!”

The boys all froze, and all eyes were on Bokuto. Well, all except one.

Bokuto chuckled, “Oh man, it's nothing like that. I just happened to make a new friend, something none of you losers could accomplish in just one day!”

“Ouch…” Komi said.

“C’monnnnnnn you know I'm just kidding!! She’s super cool though you’ll all have to meet her! Akaashi already did. Isn’t that right Akaa-”

“AKAASHI!” the coach yelled, redirecting everyone’s focus to their beloved setter. Akaashi had just spiked another ball, and everyone watched as it bounced out of bounds. “You aren’t one to make silly mistakes like this, you’ve been out of focus all practice, snap out of it!”

“Sorry” was the only thing Akaashi said, seemingly shocked himself by his sloppiness.

“Hey are you okay Akaashi?” Bokuto asked, genuinely concerned for his friend.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Washio added.

Akaashi shrugged it all off. “I’m just not having a good spiking day I guess. Nothing to get too worked up over.” He looked at Bokuto. “I’m a setter, it's not my job to have amazing spikes, I'm just here to make sure all YOUR spikes are set up perfectly.” 

Bokuto came over and patted him on the back. “Attaboy Kaashi, I know you’ll always have my back to help me do AMAZING!” he said with a smile. “I mean, even more amazing then I already am.”

“Yeah,” Akaashi said with a small smile, but it faded as soon as Bokuto turned his back to continue practice. It wasn’t like him to be swayed from focus so easily. He was always known for being so level-headed and calm, why did that change today?

“Why can’t I shake this feeling?” Akaashi thought to himself.

“Well you better shake off whatever mood you’re in,” Konoha said, almost as if he had read his mind. “We’ve got a big game tomorrow.’

All the boys reprimanded Konoha for being so heartless, but he only smirked and said it was just a joke.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Practice concluded and the boys said their goodbyes and parted ways. Akaashi was about to begin his walk home, when Bokuto ran up behind him.

“AKAAAAAASHI! Can’t run away from me that easily!” He chirped.

“I’m not running away from you, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi said.

“Then why are you walking this way????”

“...My house is this way?”

Bokuto stepped in front of Akaashi to stop him. “Well, that may be true, or it may not be true,” (Bokuto couldn’t actually remember) “buuuuuut it is the wrong way to the convenience store, where I am going to buy you anything you want, MY TREAT!”

“That’s very nice of you Bokuto.” Akaashi said, “but you don’t have to do that.”

“Sure I don’t HAVE to, but I’m going to, because I’m just that great of a friend!”

“Do you even have the money for that?”

“I mean…” Bokuto paused, “...as long as you don’t pick anything expensive?”

Akaashi let out a small laugh. “I appreciate what you’re doing, but you don’t need to pity me. I just had a rough day at practice, it’s not permanent.”

“But I wasn’t just-”

“Thank you, Bokuto, but I think I just need to get home and rest.” Akaashi stepped around Bokuto and continued his walk home.

“...Akaashi?”

Akaashi walked, but his mind raced. Bokuto was just being nice to him, why was he pushing him off? Bokuto seemed genuinely concerned for his friend. Then again, why was Bokuto being so nice? Did he feel bad for Akaashi? That was hardly ever the case. Was Akaashi angry at Bokuto? Couldn’t be. Bokuto hadn’t done anything. Or had he? No, of course not. Bokuto had made them late to practice, but being late to practice certainly wasn’t the end of the world. Though it was irresponsible of Bokuto to be mindlessly chit chatting with someone when he had somewhere to be. Was he mad at Tachibana-san?

“...Tachibana-san?”

The thought of even her name sent Akaashi into a whirlwind of emotions. No, never. He could never be mad at her. Why not? He had only just met her, and they certainly didn’t have an in depth conversation. That also was a point of confusion though. Akaashi was an excellent speaker and great with introductions, so why was this different? Why was SHE different? He’d never felt like this before, that’s for sure. Her gentle smile, her sweet, soft voice, the way her eyes stared so innocently at his. She was definitely not like anyone he had ever met. Why though? Could this be the problem? How had she managed to sneak her way into his thoughts and stay there? Akaashi certainly couldn’t shake her out, no matter how hard he tried.

“I have to talk to her again. This time will be different.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a new day and Airi walked to school with a much different set of feelings than yesterday. She couldn’t help but think back on the day she had experienced yesterday. Her nerves getting her riled up, finding her new class and navigating the school, meeting Bokuto and befriending him almost immediately. It all seemed to go by so quick, but there was still one moment that seemed to linger in her mind a little bit longer than the rest.

_Why was I such a weirdo when meeting Bokuto’s friend?_

Airi tried not to give it too much thought, since all it did was leave her feeling more bewildered. It wasn’t even something for her to give much concern to. IN fact she decided to completely stop thinking about it at all. She wasn’t even going to say his name. Everything else about her first day was great, and she wasn’t going to let something as silly as a 2 second conversation ruin the seemingly good mood she was in. As Airi approached Fukurodani, the groups of students around her no longer made her feel uneasy. For some reason, she had a pretty good feeling she would be greeted by a familiar face soon.

Airi walked to class and made her way towards her seat. Just like the day before, she was greeted with a big smile and an exuberant wave from Bokuto.

_He knows I remember where my seat is right?_

Nonetheless, Airi couldn’t help but smile. It was nice to know that she had a friend to talk to before class after all.

“Good morning newbie!” Bokuto said cheerily.

_He’s not going to give that up that nickname huh?_

` “Good morning to you as well, Bokuto.”

“Ooooh dropping the formalities already huh? You must really like me,” he said with a smirk.

“Well we are friends now aren’t we?”

Hearing those words made Bokuto smile wide. “Heck yeah we're friends! We’re gonna be best friends alright! Just don’t tell Akaashi, he doesn’t look it, but he gets jealous pretty easily.”

_Akaashi…_

Hearing that damn name again made Airi freeze up again. Suddenly all of yesterday's events flashed through her mind. Why did this boy have such an effect on her? Even hearing his name made her suddenly feel very flustered. Not to mention now her head was flooded with his image. That beautiful dark hair, his calm composure, and those enchanting eyes. Something about this boy made it impossible for Airi to get him out of her head now.

Bokuto obviously noticed her shift in mood. “Uh are you okay newbie? I was just joking about Akaashi, I promise he’s very nice.”

Airi then realized Bokuto had definitely noticed her zoning out. Her cheeks went red. “Oh uh… yeah… he seems… very nice,” she said, with a small smile sneaking from her lips.

_Crap! Cmon Airi, it’s not like you to lose focus like this…_

Bokuto was also very confused, and understandably a little upset. This was now his second friend who seemed out of it. Why could that be? It seemed everyone Bokuto was around was being weird! Did it have something to do with him? Bokuto’s friend Kuroo once said he “had that effect on people”, but Bokuto didn’t think this was what he meant. Miraculously, he was able to take a step back from his feelings and really think this through. It wasn’t everybody, it was just two people. Akaashi and Airi… When did this all start anyway?

Bokuto’s eyes grew wide. Suddenly, looking at Airi’s expression, it became clear what Bokuto could do to help his friends.

“So newbie, what are your thoughts on volleyball?”


	3. Pep Talks and Rainy Walks

“Alright team, we got this, let's take home another win!” Bokuto encouraged his team, who were all huddled around him.

“Right!” they all replied.

“As your captain, it's my job to give you some words of wisdom before our match.”

“Doesn’t that require you having wisdom?” Konoha asked.

“I HAVE PLENTY OF VOLLEYBALL WISDOM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!”

“You always gotta make a remark huh, Konoha?” Komi said.

“ANNNYYYYWAAAAAAY,” Bokuto continued, “We are the best volleyball team in the world-”

“Well, statistically speaking-” Washio added.  
“Just let him go with it,” Akaashi cut in before Washio could finish.

“Thank you, vice captain, now as I was saying, all we can do is our best! No, we can do better than that if we really try! So let’s hit some balls over the net, score some points, and the victory will be ours!”

The team let out one more cheer of approval.

“Well, now that Bokuto has explained to us how volleyball works, I’m sure we have a shot,” Akaashi said sarcastically. The rest of the team laughed.

“Thank you, Akaashi,” Bokuto said, not picking up a hint of the sarcasm, “now let's get pumped up!”

The Fukurodani Volleyball boys began their warm up as a crowd entered the gymnasium, eager to watch the day’s game. As more and more people found their way in, Bokuto couldn’t help but keep scanning the crowd.

“i hope she comes” Bokuto thought to himself

Akaashi walked over to him. “Hey Bokuto, the match is starting, are you looking for someon-” he started, but paused once he noticed a familiar face in the crowd. Instantly his face went pale as he saw Airi finding a seat, and giving them a wave. 

“Y-y-you invited her?”

Bokuto waved back at Airi enthusiastically, “Of course I did! I asked her today if she was interested in volleyball and she said yes! I thought nothing would beat giving her a chance to see the world’s greatest volleyball team in action!:

“Your endless confidence astounds me, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi sighed.

The other teammates came over once they saw Bokuto wave at Airi.

“So that’s the new girl,” Konoha said. “She’s pretty cute, not bad, Bo!” Konoha nudged Bokuto's side, grinning at him.

Akaashi rolled his eyes and began walking to his starting position.

“Nah nah it’s not like that,” Bokuto said, “...Hey Akaashi where are you going?:

“...To start the game? We are here to play volleyball remember?” Akaashi teased.

“Of course I remember, Akaashi!” Bokuto replied as he took his spot and the match began.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Airi sat through the entire match on the edge of her seat. She had seen volleyball matches on tv before, but never before had they seemed so exciting! Nothing could compare to being there in person. Watching the two teams go back and forth sending the ball to each other at such high speeds, sometimes she could hardly follow along! Especially when Bokuto had the ball. As soon as he touched it to spike, the ball seemed to double in speed. When it hit the ground, Airi couldn’t help but feel relieved, not only because he had scored another point, but also that someone didn’t have to face that ball with their body.

Of course, there was no denying that a powerful spike was only possible with a perfect set, and Akaashi was there to give him just that. No matter where the ball was coming from or what speed it was at, Akaashi handled it with such grace, passing it off to whoever called out to him. Airi couldn’t help but sit in awe each time Akaashi set a ball to Bokuto. The ball seemed to float in the air, like it was waiting for Bokuto to spike it, as if Akaashi could determine exactly where Bokuto needed it, each time without fault. 

_They really are an unbreakable duo._

With the game’s conclusion, and a win for Fukurodani, the crowd of people soon all made a brisk exit. As Airi made her way to the exit, the gray clouds above her made it clear why most people were in a hurry.

_I don’t remember rain being in the forecast for today… I better hurry too._

As she made her way to the exit, she was stopped by a shout, and the sound of footsteps moving quickly her way.

“NNEEEWWWBBBIIIIEEEE! YOU MADE IT! THANKS FOR WATCHING US! WE’RE A PRETTY AMAZING TEAM AREN’T WE? AREN’T WE?” Bokuto shouted as he made his way up to her.

“Yes Bokuto, the match was astounding to watch, I’m glad you invited me.”

“OH YEAH ANOTHER FUKURODANI VOLLEYBALL SUPPORTER UNDER THE BELT! I knew you had good taste, newbie. I can’t wait to hear all about how awesome you thought I did today. You’ll wait here for like 5 seconds right? I just gotta grab my stuff.”

“Oh,” Airi said, her eyes glancing towards the open door. “Maybe we should save that for tomorrow…”

Bokuto’s expression turned gloomy, in half a second like it had done the day before.

_God it creeps me out when he does that._

Bokuto sighed, “Oh okay, newbie, I understand if you didn’t want to…”

Airi panicked. “Oh um it’s not that! It just looks like it’s about to rain soon and I didn’t bring my umbrella today!”

Bokuto perked back up. “Pssssssh don’t worry about that! I’ll be gone and back before you know it!

After several minutes Bokuto returned, with Akaashi walking beside him.

“That was way longer than 5 seconds,” Airi said.

“Hey hey now,” Bokuto said, “not my fault. I would’ve been here sooner if SOMEONE could keep track of their personal belongings!”

Akaashi looked at Airi and bowed his head, “I’m sorry for making you wait for Bokuto. I misplaced my bag, so Bokuto had to help me find it.”

_So polite…_

Airi smiled, “Oh, no worries! I’m glad you guys found it.”

_There we go, seeee? We can talk like normal people._

“Great everyone’s happy. Akaashi found his bag, you waited for me, and it hasn’t even started raining!” Bokuto spoke, and like the universe was waiting for someone to mention it, the three of them went silent at the sound of water droplets hitting the ground.

Rain. Heavy rain.

Airi glared at Bokuto.

“Well that doesn’t look like it’s stopping anytime soon,” Bokuto said.

“You really don’t know when to stop talking do you?” Akaashi scolded.

Airi giggled at his comment. Akaashi had to look away to prevent both of them from seeing his face go just a little red.

“Look look, this is my problem, so I’m going to fix it,” Bokuto said as he turned and pointed at Akaashi. “YOU are going to walk Airi home.”

Akaashi jumped back around out of shock, “Uhm… I mean… your problem… can’t you?”

“Sorry bud, didn’t bring my umbrella, but I KNOW you have yours, Mr.”You-Should-Always-Carry-An-Umbrella-Cause-You-Never-Know-When-It’s-Going-To-Rain-Bokuto-San,” Bokuto said, with an alarmingly accurate Akaashi impression. “Plus, you both walk the same way home... I think..” (Bokuto is still not good with remembering addresses)

“It-its r-really not that dire! I don’t mind getting a little wet,” Airi stuttered.

_Of course you do! Why are you turning down this offer?!_

Even though it wasn’t technically Akaashi’s offer in the first place, he gave Airi a smile. “No, no, I don’t mind, but we should probably go now before the rain gets any heavier.”

At that sentence, Bokuto quickly blurted out, “greatnowthatthatssettledimgonnagohomebyeeeeeeeeeeeeee,” and he sped off in the opposite direction.

Airi and Akaashi looked at him, both perplexed by behavior that was weird even for him, but shrugged it off and made their way outside.

“I only have my umbrella… so uh… if you don’t mind...we’ll have to...share,” Akaashi spoke, very embarrassed to have to ask this. Sharing umbrellas was some that.... couples did…

“Oh I mean, I don’t mind if you don’t-”

“I just don’t want you to think people will get the wrong idea-”

“Oh I wasnt-”

“Not that I would care if you don’t… I MEAN I WOULD CAUSE ITS NOT AND-”

Airi let out a small laugh. “We can share it, really.”

Without a word, Akaashi opened the umbrella, and they both stepped under it and began to walk.

The first few minutes of the walk were awkwardly silent, mostly because they both couldn’t look at each other without getting red as beets, but Akaashi decided he had to get a grip and try to initiate SOME kind of conversation.

“So I… hope you enjoyed the game today.”

Airi turned his way and smiled. Talking to him turned out to be surprisingly easy. “I did! I’ve only ever seen volleyball on TV before so it was super cool getting to see a game in person! I’d love to come to more.”

Akaashi couldn’t help but smile back, but his face soon shifted. “Well, I’m sure Bokuto will ask you to come to EVERY game from now on…”

“Oh yeah, I bet…” Airi said, and it fell silent for another moment.

Akaashi quickly shifted and blurted out, “I mean… I ALSO would like to see you at more games… if you want of course....”

“Well how could I turn down an offer from the top players of the world’s greatest volleyball team?” Airi joked.

“I see Bokuto has already had an effect on you,” Akaashi chuckled. “Don’t let him disillusion you, if anything I’m far from a ‘top player’.”

Airi tilted her head at him, similar to a confused puppy. “You really think that? I can’t help but disagree, honestly. The way you can set the ball exactly where your teammates need it is amazing to watch.”

“Oh uh… thank you,” Akaashi stuttered, flustered by the unexpected compliment. “I’m the team’s setter, so that’s just my job really, to make sure Bokuto and everyone else’s spikes are perfect.”

“Yeah but without you, there’s no perfect spike at all,” Airi blushed. “I, for one, think YOU are the one who’s perfect-”

_WOAH WOAH AIRI RED ALERT TOO FORWARD TOO FORWARD!_

Akaashi became bright red, and didn’t know what to say. Before he could think of any kind of reply, they both were startled when they noticed they were pulling the umbrella in different directions at the street corner.

_Oh thank god for that distraction._

“I uh… guess this is where our routes part ways,” Akaashi said, passing the umbrella into her hands. “You can take it the rest of your way home.”

Airi gasped. “But what about you? You’ll get soaked, and it’s YOUR umbrella!”

All Akaashi could do was give her a gentle smile. “Take it, I insist. You can just give it to me at school tomorrow. I’ll be okay.”

Airi wanted to persist, but she finally gave in and accepted the umbrella. “Thank you, Akaashi-san”

“You’re welcome, Tachibana-san.”

Airi looked a little shocked when he said her name.

“Did I say something wrong?” Akaashi asked.

“Oh no! Sorry,” Airi chuckled. “I’ve always referred to my Japanese classmates by last name, but I’ve been living in America for so long I’m not used to my friends referring to me by my last name. I didn’t really notice until now since Bokuto exclusively calls me ‘newbie’ It feels a little strange to be honest. Please, call me Airi.”

“Okay, Airi, but if I am going to use your first name then it’s only fair that you call me Keiji.”

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, Keiji.”

“I look forward to it, Airi.”

They both waved at each other and went their separate ways. Akaashi ran down the street, and as he did, he felt something shaking around in his bag that he did not recognise. He found some cover nearby and opened up his bag. Upon searching, he pulled out a red umbrella that he identified immediately. He was happy to have an umbrella for the rest of his walk home, but it was still an odd stroke of luck. Maybe too lucky...

“How did Bokuto’s umbrella end up in my bag?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
~Earlier, back at Fukurodani~

“KONOHAAAAA PLEEEEEASE LET ME WALK HOME WITH YOU AND YOUR UMBRELLAAAAAAAA!!!!!”

“Bokuto I think you know very well why I’m not going to do that.” Konoha said. “Besides, didn’t you start carrying your umbrella with you every day after Akaashi gave you his speech about ‘always being prepared’?’

“Well yeah, but I uh, misplaced it today…” Bokuto said with a smirk.

“What do you look so happy about?” Konoha asked.

“Oh nothing, I’m just a great friend is all.”

“Great friend? Is that why you stole Akaashi's bag and hid it from him before he left? Don’t think I didn’t see that, Bo, what are you up to?”

“Just the work of the world’s smartest man,” Bokuto smiled and hooked Konoha by the neck, “but enough about that, you’ve gotta walk me home, sweetie.” Bokuto made fake kissing noises in Konoha’s ear.

Konoha shoved him off. “Ugh fine! But we’re taking the backway so that no one sees us!”

Bokuto made a sad face, “You don't want to show me off?”

“One more word out of you and I’m changing my mind.”

Bokuto didn’t say another word and followed Konoha out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	4. New Crush, Who Dis?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! Im trying a new form of dialogue for this chapter. Feedback on if it's hard to follow or not is appreciated!
> 
> -text that begins with dashes will represent text messages  
> -no double space means its from the same person's dialogue
> 
> -a space between means it is another character's reply

The next day, Airi’s morning walk to school was the same as always.

Well, almost.

She’d always considered herself a brisk walker when needed, as she knew how long it would take her to get to school on time. Today’s walk was a little brisker than usual though , since her racing mind kept her up last night, causing her to sleep through her first alarm. In her defense, it wasn’t her fault right? It was Akaashi’s.

_Err… Keiji._

Checking the time on her phone, she seemed to still be making good time, but she found herself slowing down when she reached a certain street corner. She looked down the adjacent street, as if someone might magically appear there as well.

_We don’t have time for this Airi! Did you really think he would be here?_

Of course her heart was saying yes, but her brain soon got a hold of itself and realized if she didn’t hurry now she would be late to class.

Airi sped into her classroom, just in time, and found her seat just as the teacher began class.

Bokuto leaned over to her and whispered, “Dang newbie, I didn’t think you were going to make it!:What happened to my prim and proper newbie I met a few days ago?”

“Oh hush,” Airi whispered, “like you’ve never been late before.”

“I probably would be late more often, but thankfully the volleyball team has plenty of morning practices so I’ll always be at school waaaaaay before you!”

“Oh duh!”  
_Of course I wouldn’t have run into Keiji when I’m walking._

Bokuto tilted his head, “Oh duh what?”

_Crap! Did I say that out loud?_

“Nothing! Nothing!” Airi quickly diverted the subject. “Speaking of practice, by the way, will you be seeing Akaashi-san later today? I need to return his umbrella!”

“Oh yeah, we can find him at the end of the day for sure.” Bokuto suddenly had another one of his genius ideas. “How about I give you his contact info so you can let him know!”

“W-Why me? You already have his-” Before Airi could finish her statement, Bokuto had grabbed her bag and took her phone out of it.

“Aaaaaaand done! Oh and I added my number as well in case you ever need to contact me. Don’t be bugging me all the time though!” He joked.

“Can I just have my phone back-”

“Mr Bokuto!” their teacher called out. “I suggest you put that device back in your bag before I confiscate it.”

Bokuto slid Airi’s phone into his bag to avoid any further problems.

The school day ended, and Bokuto began walking out of class, and Airi followed him.

“Uh Bokuto… can I have my phone please?”

“AH YES SORRY!” Bokuto grabbed the phone from his bag and handed it back to Airi. “My apologies for almost getting it taken away, so as a favor of forgiveness I already texted Akaashi for you!”

Airi’s face got hot and she stammered, “Y-y-you WHAT?!”

She quickly opened her messages and saw that Bokuto had in fact texted Akaashi on her behalf.

-Hey Hey Heyyyy Akaashi-san, o/ it’s me Airi Tachibana from America :) :P :3 I want to give you your umbrella back :O so lemme know where you be at!!! >:)

_Oh my god I would never use that many emojis… I hope Keiji doesn’t think I actually talk like this._

Airi’s phone buzzed. A message from Akaashi. She opened the message and let out a sigh of relief upon reading it.

-Bokuto, give her her phone back. Now.

Airi laughed and looked at Bokuto. “Man, Keiji really knows you well huh?”

She laughed again, but her laugh slowly faded when she noticed Bokuto was just… staring at her with wide eyes.

“...What?” she asked.

His blank stare turned into a big smirk. “........Kejji?” He raised his eyebrows at her.

Airi went pale. “Nonono I just told him because in America-”

“I KNEW IT!”

“Bokuto, you're not listeni- wait… Knew what?”

“THAT YOU LIKE HIM!” Bokuto shouted. Garnering a few stares from other students in the hallway around them.

Airi grabbed Bokuto by the collar, pulled him around the corner, and pulled him close to whisper, “Would you stop shouting?!?!?!”

“Would you stop going red in the face every time I talk about him?” Bokuto teased.

“Shut up!” Airi, still his whisper, said to him harshly. She couldn’t tell Bokuto, no way. If she had a crush, she knew the absolute worst person to tell would be that person’s best friend.

Now Bokuto was just having fun. “You can try to hide it, newbie, but nothing gets past these eyes.”

Airi got quiet. “You…. don’t know what youre… talking about…”

“Awwwwww is little newbie getting SHY now?”

This was followed by a swift punch to the gut.

“Okay… I probably deserved that,” Bokuto said. For the first time since Airi met him, Bokuto’s voice suddenly got very serious. “You don't have to be so embarrassed. You know I’m not gonna tell him, right?”

“...You’re not?”

Bokuto laughed. “Man, I may be loud but Koutarou Bokuto is not a snitch! I wouldn’t tell a soul, newbie!”

Airi let out a another sigh of relief. “Thank you, Bokuto.”

With that, her phone buzzed again.

-I hope Bokuto-san has given you your phone back by now. If so, I’m outside the gym now. Hope to see you there, Tachibana-san.  
-Sorry, I mean Airi.

“He just texted you right?”

“Shut up!.”

“I can tell because you’re smiling.”

“You’re not going to stop are you?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`~~~~

Airi approached the gym, where Akaashi was standing outside.

“Hey Airi.”

“Hi Keiji.” She handed him the umbrella. “I wanted to thank you again for letting me borrow this.”

“Not a problem, I enjoyed our walk yesterday.”

“Oh, I did too! I still feel bad that you had to walk the rest of your way in the rain though.” Airi said

“Funny thing about that,” Akaashi said, “it turns out Bokuto accidentally put his umbrella in my bag, so I lucked out in a way.”

_That scheming little… did he plan that?_

“Anyway,” Akaashi continued, “since uh,,, we apparently live pretty close… if you ever came to another game,.. I would be happy to walk home with you again,” he smiled, “rain or shine.”

Airi could hardly contain herself

_Curse volleyball practice! I want to walk with him every day!_

Finding her composure, Airi replied, “I would love that as well. Do you have any more games coming up?”

“Actually we do tomorrow, speaking of which, did Bokuto not come with you? I’ve got some pretty good news to share with him.”

“Bokuto said he had to do something before coming to practice,” she giggled, “though I haven’t the faintest idea what.”

Akaashi also laughed, “Does anyone? Well regardless, he’s going to be pretty excited by this news so I suggest getting some distance from here now unless you have some earplugs handy.”

“I guess I’ll be going then,” Airi said with a smile, “I can say that I’ve had enough of Bokuto shouting for today.”

“You have no idea how lucky you are.” Airi turned to walk home but Akaashi called out to her. “Hey, I’ll text you about tomorrow's game?”

“Please do!” Airi called back. “And please disregard how Bokuto texted on my behalf, I promise I speak much more eloquently!”

Akaashi let out a small laugh. He was happy, but a strange feeling was still sitting inside of him.

“Why was Bokuto holding Airi’s phone anyway?”  
Akaashi tried to shake off the weird feeling, but it was still there. Only the sound of Bokuto approaching the gym was able to distract him.

“AKAAAAAASHI IM HERE IM HERE IM NOT LATE MAKE SURE KONOHA KNOWS!”

Akaashi rolled his eyes. “You’re fine Bokuto, but we better get inside and practice hard today.”

“Oh yeah why's that?”

Akaashi took a step back and plugged his ears to prepare for the reaction that was about to follow his next statement.

“Coach scheduled a practice match for us tomorrow. With Nekoma.” 

The yell of pure excitement that came out of Bokuto’s mouth could have been heard all across Japan most likely.

“ALLLLL RIIIIIIIIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Airi was sitting at home, working on her homework, when suddenly her phone was buzzing like crazy.

Oh a text from Keiji. As well as… 8 from Bokuto.

She opened the message from Akaashi first.

-Hi Airi. We will be having a practice match with a nearby school tomorrow. It's not any kind of official game, but you can still come and watch. If you are interested, do not hesitate to stop by :) You can come to the gym after school.

Airi’s heart fluttered as she typed her reply.

-I wouldn’t miss it! Thank you, Keiji.

She then looked at Bokuto’s

-NEWBIEEEEE  
-OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG  
-U HAVE 2 COME 2 THE GYM RIGHT AFTER SCHOOL 2MORROW  
-I GOT THE BEST NEWS EVAAAR  
-WERE HAVING A PRACTICE MATCH WITH NEKOMA HIGH  
-YOURE GONNA B THER RIGHT?!?!?!?!  
-GET 2 THE GYM SUUUUPER EARLY  
-THERES SUM1 I WANT U 2 MEET!!!!!

-Yes Bokuto, I will be there. Keiji already told me about it. I’ll meet you then!

-KEIJIIIIIII ;););););)

-Goodnight, Bokuto.

-D:  
-So that’s the thanks I get for giving you two some ~aloooooone~ time huh?

-GOODNIGHT


	5. Mission: Cat and Owl

After school the next day Airi made her way to the gym to meet Bokuto and Akaashi for their match. She walked in and looked around for her friends.

_I wonder who Bokuto wanted me to meet so badly._

She soon spotted some spiky white and black hair in the corner of the gym and began to approach him. Bokuto hadn’t noticed her yet, as he was talking to someone she didn’t recognize. 

_I don’t remember him from the last game, maybe he’s from the other school?_

“Hey Bokuto!” she called out. The two boys turned their heads upon hearing her.

“HEY HEY HEY NEWBIEEE! You made it!”

The other boy, a tall muscular boy with spiky jet black hair, spoke next. “So this is the girl you’ve been talking so much about, huh? I’m Tetsuro Kuroo, you'll have to tell me your name since this one won’t call you anything but ‘newbie’. ” He leaned over to Airi and whispered, “Not gonna lie, I think he forgot your name.”

“HEY I CAN HEAR YOU NO I DIDN'T!”

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Airi Tachibana.”

“So is it true?” Kuroo asked with a grin, “You’re the one who’s got a thing for Akaashi?”

Kuroo jumped as Airi’s fist once again landed in Bokuto’s abdomen.

“WHAT WAS THAT FOR???” Bokuto cried.

“YOU SAID YOU WEREN’T GOING TO TELL ANYONE!”

“I like her already,” Kuroo said.

“Sorry newbie, I tell Kuroo everything, that's part of the deal.”

“You didn’t tell ME that was part of the deal!”

“Well WHYYY do you think I wanted you to meet Kuroo?”

“Damn bro,” Kuroo said, faking offence, “That’s all you wanted me to meet her for? I’m hurt.”

“Oooooh Kuroo don’t be like that,” Bokuto pleaded. “She hasn’t even met the rest of the team yet, that’s how special you are.”

“Oooh Bokuto, you flatter me,” Kuroo joked.

“Uhm, should I give you guys some alone time?” Airi teased.

“Apparently, according to Bokuto, we're trying to get you and Akaashi some more ‘alooooooone time’.”

Airi turned bright red. Even she didn’t know if it was from embarrassment or rage.

“Damn you were right Bo, she does blush easily.”

“IS THERE ANYTHING YOU DIDN”T TELL HIM?” Airi shouted.

A new voice made the trio turn around sharply. “What are you guys screaming about?” Akaashi asked as he walked up to them.

“Oh heyyyyy Kaashi. Nothing,,,nothing fancy.” (Bokuto is not good being put on the spot)

Airi jumped in. “Bokuto invited me to come early so he could introduce me to Kuroo-san.”

“Kuroo-san? Kuroo-san is my father. Where did you guys find her?” Kuroo laughed.

Akaashi looked at Bokuto, “You didn’t tell me you were having her come so early, I was looking for her.” Bokuto was shocked by how annoyed Akaashi sounded.

“Oh uh,,,I didn’t? Sorry bud.” Bokuto said.

Akaashi just spoke to him bluntly, “It’s almost time for us to start anyways, we should go.”

As he led Bokuto away, Airi called out, “Good luck, Keiji!”

Akaashi turned around and smiled at Airi.

“Wow, you really do call him by his first name,” Kuroo teased. “I didn’t think Bokuto was serious.”

Airi sighed. “I’m going to kill him.”

She found herself a spot to sit and was ready to watch the game, when she felt her phone buzz. 

_How is Bokuto texting me right now?_

Her head shot up as a shout from Fukurodani’s coach startled her.

“Bokuto! Are you TEXTING right now? Get on the court!”

From across the court, she heard Kuroo let out the most ridiculous laugh she had ever heard. The rest of Fukurodani’s players were looking at Bokuto, stifling their own laughter, except for Akaashi. He looked right at Airi, noticing the phone in her hand, and glared at Bokuto.

Airi had already looked down to read Bokuto messages.

_Hmm only 5 this time_

-hey newbie, sorry we didnt get too talk :/  
-tried 2 get konoha 2 distract akaashi but he got here too quick!!!!!  
-kuroo haz a plan  
-meet us after the game  
-wink wink wink ;) ;) ;) ;)

_What on Earth are they plotting?_

The match started and things were going pretty well for Fukurodani. Nekoma was proving to be a much tougher competitor than their previous game, Kuroo was actually able to block a couple of Bokuto’s shots! It was almost strange for Airi to watch, seeing as the last game he couldn’t be stopped. Bokuto seemed like he was trying his best, was it Akaashi who was off? He didn’t seem as graceful as before, and his moves didn’t seem as effortless and exact. Was something else on his mind? Airi couldn’t tell. Her attention got drawn to something else.

Bokuto was...sad?

His face had that incredibly morose expression she had seen a few times before, but never during a game!

The game was progressing, and now certainly not in Fukurodani’s favor. Bokuto had seemingly banned Akaashi from setting to him, and even if he did he was missing easy shots. Airi watched with sadness in her heart as the score for Nekoma grew higher and higher. Her heart sank as Nekoma won the first set. She watched as the teams huddled together to talk in between the next upcoming set. As the boys were about to take their place on the court again, Akaashi took Bokuto to the side. Airi couldn’t hear their conversation, but Bokuto immediately perked up after hearing what Akaashi said. Suddenly Akaashi pointed over to where Airi was, and Bokuto looked over at her as well. It caught her off guard, but she knew Bokuto clearly needed some encouragement.

“You can do it Bokuto! You’re the best volleyball player in the world!” Airi cheered.

That was more than enough to get Bokuto jumping up and down and speeding back to the court.

Akaashi looked back at Airi nodding his head, as if to say “thank you”. Airi just waved back with a smile. She hadn’t done much.

_I just told Bokuto what he wanted to hear, is all._  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“HAHAAAAAA take that you looooooosers,” Bokuto called out to Kuroo at the end of the match. With Bokuto back to feeling like himself after Airi’s encouragement, it became another easy win for Fukurodani.

“Bokuto, please try to be respectful when everyone can hear you,” Akaashi scolded.

Kuroo came over to Bokuto and started throwing joke insults back at him as the three of them all walked over to Airi.

“So I bet you’re feeling quite nervous now,” Kuroo said to Airi.

“W-w-what do you mean?” She laughed nervously.

_Why is this guy trying to blow my cover?!_

“I mean, after that game, I’m sure you’re conflicted over whether or not to become a Nekoma fan now,” Kuroo said with a wink.

_I can see why him and Bokuto get along so well._

Before Airi could think of a clever retort, Bokuto replied for her.

“OOOOOH NO YOU DON’T! Newbie here is clearly only a fan of winning teams only, right newbie?” He said, hooking his arm around her neck.

Kuroo came next to Airi on her other side and hooked her as well. “Now now Bokuto, why don’t you let the lady speak for herself? It’s a shame she didn’t come to our last match then, or the one before that,” he teased.

It seemed like a joke at first, but now Airi could not tell if they were still teasing each other or actually arguing. Somehow, she managed to slip from their hold, and they were too involved in their own debate to even notice she broke free. As their battle continued, Airi leaned over to Akaashi who had also been watching this unfold rather calmly.

“Are they always like this together?” Airi asked.

“Unfortunately, yeah pretty much,” Akaashi replied.

“Should we do something, or…?”

“Nah it’s best to just let it happen,” Akaashi said and they both laughed.

Bokuto and Kuroo stopped in their tracks and looked over at them, and instantly snapped out of their arguments.

“Ah yes that reminds me,” Kuroo said, in an oddly proper voice, “I have something for you, Bokuto.”

“For me?” Bokuto replied, in a similar voice. “Oh Kuroo you shouldn’t have!”

_Do they really think their acting is convincing?_

“Why yes,” Kuroo said, “Since you won today, I present you with this!” and he gave Bokuto a small slip of paper.

Airi leaned over to Akaashi again and whispered, “Do they usually give each other... gifts?”

Akaashi stood there, completely perplexed. “No… no this is new…”

Bokuto and Kuroo continued their performance, as Bokuto rejected the gift saying that he was certainly not worthy of such a generous gesture.

“Oh but Kuroo,” Bokuto said with fake tears (or were they… actual tears?), “I was such a disgrace today, I am worthy of no praise!. He took the slip of paper and shoved it in Akaashi’s direction. “Here Kaashi, just take it! You deserve it more than a loser like me!” With that, Akaashi took the paper, and Bokuto ran away.

Akaashi looked at the paper. It was a coupon to a local cafe. “Um Kuroo, what the hell was that?”

Kuroo just chuckled, “You’re asking me to explain Bokuto’s actions? Even I have no idea.” (Surprisingly, Kuroo is a much better liar than Bokuto).”Anyway, I got that coupon in the mail yesterday. I tried to get Kenma to go with me but he wouldn’t, so just take it, at least someone can put some use to it.”

Kuroo then said his goodbyes and took off with the rest of his team.

Airi and Akaashi stood there, still trying to process what just happened.

“Well,” Akaashi said, “since we uh…. have this…would you want to go check it out? The cafe isn’t too far from here.”

_Wait, did Keiji just ask me on a date!?_

Airi smiled. “Sure, I would love to,” Airi replied, surprising herself with the level of calmness in her voice. They both made their way out of the gym.

Outside the school, the Nekoma team was gathering their things back onto the bus, and Kuroo watched as he saw a familiar pair walking together. He smiled a scheming smile.

“Kuroo what are you up to?” His teammate, Kenma Kozume, asked.

“Oh nothing Kenma, just witnessing a monumental event,” Kuroo replied.

“I don’t actually care, but what are you talking about?”

Kuroo smiled as he saw Akaashi and Airi turn a corner together.

“One of Bokuto’s stupid plans may have actually worked.”


	6. Sweet Talkin'

Airi and Akaashi arrived at the cafe and Akaashi took a large stride in front of her, ensuring that he made it to the door first. She looked at him, confused for a second, but he opened the door and motioned her in with his arm.

“A-after you,” he said nervously, but finishing it off with a smile.

Airi thanked him and briskly made her way through the door, hoping he wouldn’t notice the redness forming in her cheeks.

_Cmon Airi, he’s doing the bare minimum here..._

_...Oh but he’s such a gentleman!_

Luckily for her, Akaashi himself was too worried about his own red face to even notice hers. Composing himself, he followed her in and began to look for a place to sit.

“The coupon here says if I buy one drink I get another free” Akaashi said, skimming the small piece of paper that had been slightly crumbled due to Bokuto’s grasp. “so order whatever you like, Airi.”

He looked up and noticed she wasn’t exactly listening. Her eyes were glued to the glass display case located near the front of the store. Inside of it, were a large variety of cakes and other sweets that looked irresistible to her. It wasn’t something that came up in conversation often, but Airi had a huge sweet tooth.

_Maaaaaaan look at all those cakes! I wish I could have one of each!_

Her head snapped around when she heard Akaashi call her name.

“Would you like to sit here?” Akaashi asked, motioning to a small table in the corner.

“Oh, sure Keiji!” She followed him over and they sat down.

They took their seats and soon a waitress came over to the table. Akaashi and Airi ordered their drinks of choice.

“Can I get you both anything else?” the waitress asked.

“Umm, I think that’ll be all,” Airi said.

Akaashi looked at her with a confused expression. 

“Really? I saw you eyeing that cake counter,” he smiled. “Pick something. On me”

Airi almost didn’t know what to say at that first.

_Man was I really staring that hard? He probably thinks I’m such a weirdo._

She then remembered the waitress was awkwardly still standing at their table and figured it was better to not cause her the torture of watching them go back and fourth.

“...One slice of the strawberry shortcake please…” Airi said quietly.

The waitress nodded and walked away. A few moments later, she returned with everything. Airi knew she should compose herself, but the fluffy whipped cream and bright red strawberries were just calling her name. She dug in as soon as the plate landed on the table. It was one of the best strawberry shortcakes she had ever had.

Akaashi couldn’t help but chuckle. “You really like cake huh?”

Airi suddenly realized just how bizarre she must’ve looked right now.

_And in front of Keiji of all people!_

“Oh uh sorry… I guess it goes without saying I kind of have a weak spot for sweets,” Airi said shyly. “Did you want to try some?”

“No thank you,” Akaashi replied. “Not to sound like an ‘athlete’ or anything, but I’m trying to avoid desserts at the moment.

Airi immediately felt horrible, “Oh my gosh I had no idea! I wouldn’t have ordered it for you to just sit here and watch me eat it!” She continued to worry when she felt a hand on her wrist.

Akaashi looked down at his own hand for a second, not realizing what he had just done. He quickly pulled his hand back in embarrassment.

“Uhh...sorry… I mean… YOU shouldn’t be sorry!” Akaashi said. “I could tell you really wanted it, so I don’t mind. Honest.”

Airi smiled and took another bite. 

“If it’s not too personal, can I ask why you would avoid something as DELICIOUS as this?” she joked.

Akaashi chuckled. “It’s nothing that serious. I’m just trying to build more muscle and get stronger in general, so I figured that the first place to start is by trying to eat a little healthier.”

“Well,” Airi continued, still eating her cake, “props to you, I don’t know if I could ever do that.”

Akaashi replied, “Yeah, I mean it’s certainly not easy, but if I want to continue to be a better player, there’s some things I have to sacrifice. Even a cake as delicious-looking as that.”

Airi put a piece of the cake on her fork and stuck it in front of him. “I’m certainly no dietary expert, but I’m sure one little piece wouldn’t hurt.”

Akaashi sat there for a second not sure what to do. He knew of course, letting tiny exceptions pass was always the beginning of losing your goals entirely, but also, looking at the smiling face in front of him, how could he possibly say no? Perhaps cake wasn’t his true weakness after all. He took the fork and ate the piece of cake.

“Soooo?” Airi asked, “Good huh?”

“I feel like I can’t let my brain validate that question with an answer,” he replied (it was amazing, by the way). “At least if my volleyball skills start slacking, I know who to blame,” he said with a smirk.

“Hey!” Airi said, frowning. “Besides, I think it would be nearly impossible for you to get WORSE at volleyball.”

Akashi looked out the window with a serious look on his face, “I appreciate your kind words, I guess I just wish I believed them myself…”

His head shot back to Airi as she sternly said, “Well you should! You’re an amazing player and a great leader to your teammates!”

“Y-you really think so?”

Airi nodded, “I know so! I saw the way you guys played today, and I saw how you helped Bokuto out.”

Akaashi couldn’t help but chuckle again at that. “Please, Bokuto-san does that pretty much any time he isn’t playing well, that’s nothing. What really helped was reminding him he was ‘the best volleyball player in the world’, Airi.”

Airi stuttered for a second.

_Keiji doesn’t actually think I think that right?_

“Oh I just said that-” she started, but Akaashi cut in.

“Don’t worry about that,” he said as he stood up from the table, “At least one good thing came from today. Shall we?” Akaashi paid for their food and once again opened the door for her on the way out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They continued chatting about other things on their way home, when they approached the street corner where they usually part. This time, however, Airi noticed that Akaashi kept walking with her.

“Hey Keiji, isn’t your home that way?”

“Yeah, it is,” he replied, “but since it’s late, I didn’t want you walking by yourself, so I figured I’d just walk you all the way.”

Airi blushed. “Thank you...”

They made it to the front of Airi’s house, and said their goodbyes

“Thank you Keiji.”

“You said that already,” Akaashi teased.

“No I mean.. Thank you for everything today.”

“Oh u-uh you’re welcome, I had a great time.”

“Me as well. Please get home safe.”

“I will I promise. Goodnight, Airi”

“Goodnight, Keiji.”

Airi stood in front of her house for a few minutes watching Akaashi walk down the street until he was no longer in view. She turned to walk back into her house when she heard a rustling in the bushes outside her house. Someone appeared out of the bushes causing Airi to yell in terror.

“God I thought he’d never leave- why are you screaming?”

Airi landed a swift punch to the stranger's gut and they stumbled to the ground. She then looked in the darkness and realized she wasn’t in danger at all.

“...BOKUTO?!”

“Wassup, newbie?”

“WHY ARE YOU AT MY HOUSE?”

He stood up and dusted himself off. “For real newbie, you should really look into joining the martial arts club or something…”

Airi grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him in. “Why. Are. You. HERE?!”

Bokuto freed himself from her grasp and continued. “Obviously I couldn’t wait to hear about your date with Akaashi went.”

“And you couldn’t have texted or called me? How do you even know where I live?!?!”

“Girl please, I’ve been following you guys this whole time.” He struck a ninja-esque pose. “Koutarou Bokuto is not a snitch, but he is a STEALTH MASTAAA!”

“So if you were following us, why do you have to ask? You clearly know what happened.”

“I mean sure I followed you guys but I wasn’t watching or listening, I am a gentleman, newbie.”

_One day, just one day I’d love to go in his brain and figure out how it works._

“Well, you didn’t miss much, it wasn’t even a date.”

Another voice cut in from seemingly out of nowhere. “Damn Bo, you didn’t tell me she was this oblivious.”

“W-who was that?” Airi asked, looking around but seeing no one.

Bokuto smiled and lifted up his phone that was in his hand. “Oh that’s just Kuroo, I’ve had him on speaker phone.”

“Heyoooo Tachibana!” Kuroo said cheerily.

“Oh uh… you can just call me… wait a minute BOKUTO YOU WERE GOING TO LET HIM LISTEN TO OUR PRIVATE CONVERSATION?!”

“Uh DUH,” Bokuto replied. “God newbie, do you not remember that Kuroo is part of the deal too?”

“Not to mention I lost a good coupon thanks to you lovebirds,” Kuroo added.

“Lovebirds? I-”

“Oh don’t be so sour Kuroo,” Bokuto cut in, “you said yourself that Kenma wouldn’t go with you.”

“Well you don’t have to rub it in!” Kuroo yelled.

Bokuto and Kuroo once again broke out into their own argument, leaving Airi standing there. She entertained the moment shortly before finally interjecting.

“WOULD YOU BOTH JUST GO HOME??”

“Technically I am home,” Kuroo teased.

Airi’s palm landed swiftly on her own forehead.

“You know what I mean…”

Bokuto shrugged, “Fine newbie, keep your secrets, I guess I’ll be on my way.” He turned and began walking in the opposite direction.

“Great,” Kurro said, “Does that mean I can hang up now? You’ve had me on the phone for like 2 hours now.”

“But Kurooooo you said you make sure I didn’t get lost coming home!”

Bokuto continued walking and Airi could no longer hear their conversation. Slightly dazed by whatever had just occurred today, she made her way inside her house.

Still outside, around the corner down the street, an even more confused Akaashi stood, hidden from sight. Of course he had turned around when he heard her scream, but stopped himself when he saw it was just Bokuto. He was far enough away that he couldn’t hear their conversation, but he still stayed, watching until Bokuto left.

“...Why was Bokuto at Airi’s house?”


	7. Study Buddies

“Ughhhhhh I’m doomed!” Bokuto cried from his desk the next week at school.

“What’s wrong Bokuto?” Airi asked as she read over her returned test papers. “Bad grade?”

“Look, it may come as a surprise for someone as amazing as me, but sometimes and I mean SOMETIMES, my grades are…..not the goodest.”

_Just that sentence tells me all I needed to know, as if I didn’t already. I hope he truly doesn't think that was a secret._

Airi knew she had to sound more supportive, at the risk of triggering a sad Bokuto. 

“Can I see? I’m sure it can’t be that bad.”

It was. Especially in English.

“If I don’t do well on my exams, I won’t be able to participate in the upcoming volleyball tournament! What do I doooooooooo?” Bokuto whined. It seemed sad Bokuto may emerge regardless.

Before Airi could say anything, Bokuto’s face lit up.

“Wait, I’ve got it!”

“Got what?”

“You’re pretty good with English right?”

“Well considering I lived in America for-”

Bokuto stood up abruptly from his chair and dramatically pointed at Airi.

“YOU, will tutor me in English!”

Airi got embarrassed as Bokuto’s exclamation had caused many students to turn and stare. 

_You’d think I’d be used to this by now, huh?_

“I will tutor you if you stop shouting!” Airi also shouted.

“YAAAAAY- I mean… yaaaaaay…” Bokuto whispered, sitting back down.

Before class started, the two quickly discussed the best time to begin the tutoring sessions. Since that day the volleyball team was having a day off from practice, Bokuto said they could start right after school for sure. Airi agreed they could go to the library at the end of the day, and it was settled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the school day ended, Akaashi walked down the hallway, hoping he could find Airi. It had been a few days since their trip to the cafe, and Akaashi had not stopped thinking about it since. He wanted to spend more time with her, but was also scared of overwhelming her. He wasn’t even sure she felt any type of way about him. She could have just accompanied him to be polite. With the team’s big tournament coming up, he had been very busy with countless morning and afternoon practices he hadn’t had any free time to himself.

But not today!

Grateful for a day of rest, Akaashi knew this may be his big chance to spend time with Airi again, but where was she? He looked around everywhere, in every room, by every group of people, he even passed her and Bokuto’s classroom with no luck.

“Was I too slow?” he thought to himself. “Did she already go home?”

He thought if he moved fast enough he might be able to catch her on her way home, so he picked up speed down the hall. Blinded by his panic, he didn’t even notice the body in front of him he slammed into.

“Ah, I’m so sorry! I wasn’t looking-” he looked down and saw just who he had crashed into. “-Airi?”

“Oh, hello Keiji!” She said with a smile.

Akaashi smiled too, but it faded as soon as he noticed she wasn’t walking alone.

“HEY HEY Akaashi!” Bokuto also said smiling. “How are you spending your day off?”

Akaashi’s heart dropped and he could barely speak. “I-I was just going to-”

Bokuto cut in, “Well newbie is gonna come help me study so I don’t fail all my exams, isn’t she the best?!”

“Yes, I suppo-” Akaashi started, but didn’t get to finish as Bokuto grabbed Airi by the arm and started pulling her towards the library.

“WELP WE GOTTA GO BYE KAAAASHHIIIII” Bokuto called out, as they turned down the hallway.

Just like that, Akaashi was standing alone, and what seemed like his one big chance had just been blown. All thanks to Bokuto.

“Hey Akaashi!” someone called out. Akaashi spun around. It was Komi.

“Oh hey Komi.”

“Dude I think I may be going crazy or something, but I just saw Bokuto walk into the library! I didn’t think I’d ever see that!” he joked.

Akaashi scoffed, “Yeah, I guess Bokuto is just FULL of surprises.”

“I think he was with that new girl too,” Komi continued. “She must be pretty amazing to be able to convince Bokuto to study!”

Komi chuckled to himself and then said goodbye to Akaashi and left.

Again, Akaashi stood there by himself.

“Yeah, she’s pretty incredible.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the library, Airi began going over everything Bokuto would need to work on to pass his English exam. She was happy they were making some good progress to start off, but she soon learned that Bokuto had some other discussion topics in mind. Either that, or his attention span was worse than she thought.

“So how would you translate-”

“Has Akaashi texted you recently?” Bokuto asked with a smirk.

Airi rolled her eyes. “That’s not what we're here to talk about. Now if you can just-”

“When are you gonna go on another date?”

Airi sighed and shut her book. “Okay, I will entertain this topic for 5 minutes then we are getting back to work.”

Bokuto clapped his hands and scooted in closer to her.

“Uhm, personal space?” Airi asked.

Bokuto only leaned in closer, “Look, I’m working on my whispering, that way no one can hear us.”

_Finally._

Airi also whispered, “I appreciate your concerns and wanting to check in, but there’s not much to report. We haven’t really talked since we went to the cafe. Honestly i’m not even sure he likes me that much, in that way at least.”

Bokuto frowned, “Well we certainly can’t let that be the case. That’s why you have to talk to meeeeee. Akaashi is my best friend, no one knows him better than I do, I can certainly help you get his attention.”

Airi knew all too well that refusing his offer would be futile, and this time, she wasn’t sure she wanted to refuse or deny anything anymore. She really did want to get to know Akaashi, and if Bokuto was willing to help, she’d be an idiot to deny.

“Alright,” Airi said, “I guess the biggest thing is that we don’t really have any excuses to see each other. I don’t want to scare him by asking to hang out just the two of us in case he gets the wrong idea.”

Bokuto tilted his head in confusion. “But it’s not the wrong idea? You want him to think of you romantically right?”

“Sure, but I can’t let him know that yet! What if he really doesn’t see me that way?”

Bokuto couldn’t help but laugh, only to be shushed by the studying students around them. “Man, girls are weird. Okay here’s the plan. Akaashi is suuuuuper smart, and he always wants to help people, soooo just tell him you need help in…. I don’t know math or something… then you guys can get together and study!”

“My math scores are excellent though!” Airi replied.

“Come onnnnn, Kaashi doesn’t know that! With exams coming up it's the perfect excuse for some 1-on-1 time.”

Airi sighed. “Alright I’ll do it.” An alarm suddenly buzzed from her phone and she quickly shut it off. “Aaaand that was 5 minutes, back to work, buddy.”

“Oh fiiiiiine” Bokuto moaned and they finished their lesson.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bokuto and Airi finished studying for the day and made their way home. Once Airi got home, she pulled out her phone, and pulled up Akaashi’s number

_It’s just a phone call, Airi, you can do this._

Airi dialled the number and listened to it ring a few times.

_What if he says no? What if he doesn’t answer? Ohh I shouldn’t have even calle-_

“Hello?” said Akaashi.

“Keiji! Hi, it’s uh Airi.”

“Hey Airi, how was studying with Bokuto today?”

“Oh uhh it was fine,” Airi laughed nervously, “I think he’ll be able to pass his exams with a little more practice.”

“That’s good to hear, we definitely need him to pass and be with us at the tournament.”

“Well when you say it like that I feel a lot more pressure,” she giggled.

“I’m sure you’re doing a great job. Was there something you needed from me?”

Airi had almost completely forgotten why she called Akaashi in the first place. “Oh! Uh, yes… speaking of exams, I was getting a little nervous for one of mine, and I know Bokuto probably couldn’t help me there…”

_Shoot, I probably shouldn’t insult his best friend so casually…_

Akaashi just laughed.

_Phew_

He continued, “Well you’re probably right about that. I’d be happy to help. What exam are you nervous for?”

“Uh… math?” Airi said, picking a random subject.

“Are you unsure?”

“No no! It’s math. Yes, that’s the one.” 

More nervous laughter.

“Not a problem, would you be around this weekend? You can come to my house and we can go over what you need help with,” Akaashi offered.

Airi smiled to herself. “That would be perfect, it’s a date!”

_Uh oh…_

Silence.

“I-I-I just meant I’ll see you then!”

“Y-yeah, sounds good, Airi, I’ll talk to you soon.”

They both stuttered through their goodbyes and hung up the phone, thankful that a phone call is perfect for hiding a red face.


	8. A Convincing Performance

Sunday arrived and Airi made her way to Akaashi’s place. She of course had informed Bokuto that they were getting together, so to no one’s surprise her phone buzzed with words of encouragement from him the whole walk there.

-GOOD LUCK 2DAY NEWBIE!!!!!!!  
-SHOW HIM HOW SMART U CAN B! ^O^  
-BUT LIKE NOT TOO SMART THAT U DONT NEED HIS HELP YA KNO ;O  
-R U WEARING SOMETHIN CUTEEE?????? :P  
-TRY NOT 2 GET TO RED EVERYTIME HE SPEAKS 2 U ;););)

After a few messages Airi had to interject.

-Hey Bokuto, can you do me a favor today?

-ANYTHING!!! :D

-Don’t follow me today.

\- D:

Airi was mostly ignoring his messages because as she walked she was checking behind her constantly to make sure a certain someone wasn’t following her. Any passerby who saw her would have thought the poor girl was looking for a stalker or a criminal who was chasing her. Sure she had told Bokuto not to follow her, but what were the chances that he would actually listen? 

_So this is my life now…_

She finally made it to the address that Akaashi sent her, and in one final move to ease her mind, she checked inside the nearby bushes for Bokuto, just to be sure.

“Are you looking for something dear?” a woman asked.

Airi popped her head up swiftly, not realizing that someone could actually see her.

“Oh no! It’s nothing. Thank you ma’am,” Airi replied.

_More like making sure I have nothing TO look for…_

Upon further examination, Airi realized the tall woman with dark hair just so happened to be standing in the doorway of the house matching Akaashi’s address.

_Don’t tell me…_

“...Mrs Akaashi?”

_Please say no please say no..._

The woman looked quite confused. “Yes, have we met before?”

_Great, Keiji’s mom probably thinks I’m some crazy bush lady!_

“Oh uh no… you see I was just-” Airi fumbled her words for a few moments while luckily someone came to her rescue.

“There you are, Airi.”

_Impeccable timing as always, Keiji._

“Oh you’re Keiji’s friend from school yes?” his mom asked.

Airi made her way towards the both of them and introduced herself properly to his mom. “Yes, my name is Airi Tachibana, it’s very nice to meet you and thank you for allowing me to come to your home today.”

Akaashi’s mom smiled. “It’s nice to meet you as well. Anyone who appreciates my Keiji’s academic ability is always a welcome guest,” she said with a small laugh.

“Okay mom, that’s enough,” said a slightly embarrassed Akaashi. “Airi, please come in.”

“I’ll leave you both to it,” said Akaashi’s mom, walking back into the house.

Airi was about to enter as well, when Akaashi stopped her and placed his hand on her head. She froze.

“What are you-”

“You have a leaf in your hair,” Akaashi said, plucking it out and then motioning her inside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
:  
Akaashi led her into a room with a table and chairs for them to do their work at. Already at the table was a tray with a teapot and two cups of tea, as well as a small strawberry shortcake. 

"I just got the cake from the food store," Akaashi said, "so I'm sure it won't compare to the cafe, but I figured we can't work on an empty stomach can we?"

_He remembered..._

Akaashi and Airi spent a great amount of time studying. Airi came prepared with some blank worksheets and asked lots of questions. These were all things she knew of course, but she ended up asking more than she planned, and even throwing in some wrong answers here and there, just to make it convincing. She also couldn’t deny that she enjoyed having Akaashi explain everything to her. She could listen to him talk forever. It was amazing that he didn’t notice most of the time he was explaining or correcting her “mistakes” she just spent the time staring at him as opposed to her own papers.

_Did you know he wears glasses?! AH!_

Akaashi on the other hand, was just as thrilled that Airi trusted him enough to help her out. He even found himself explaining a few things very vaguely, just so Airi would ask him more questions. He was also very impressed at just how well she was picking everything up. Perhaps he just wasn’t used to tutoring anyone who wasn’t Bokuto, but nonetheless it gave him a little boost of confidence, maybe just the amount of confidence he needed.

“If you don’t mind me saying, I’m really not sure what you were so worried about,” Akaashi said.

_Crap! Did he see through my lying?_

“W-what do you mean by that?”

“Forgive me, I don’t mean to say your nerves were invalid or anything like that,” Akaashi replied. “I just mean that you seem to be in really good shape from here, as you picked up everything I said really quickly. I’m impressed is all.”

“You must just be an amazing teacher,” Airi said with a smile.

_Woah girl slow your roll there!_

They both turned away from each other to hide their blushing, but were able to return to facing each other quicker than usual. Perhaps they were finally getting used to each other.

“Anyway,” Akaashi continued, “I really appreciate, I mean, the whole team really appreciates you helping Bokuto study for his exams. I’m not sure what we would do if he wasn’t able to come to the tournament with us.”

“Oh it’s no problem! His English just needs a little work, which is why I think he asked me specifically,” Airi laughed.

“Maybe so,” Akaashi said doubtfully, “either way, I’m sure he’s asked you to come to the tournament by now right?”

“Well...no, he hasn’t,” Airi said.

Akaashi was silent for a second in shock. “Really? Well, either way I’m sure he will want you there. I-I would like you there too, if you’re not doing anything of course!”

Airi smiled.

_Does he… always get this flustered when he talks…?_

“I wouldn’t miss it, for either of you!”

Looking at the time, Airi realized it was getting late and she should probably head home. She thanked Akaashi for allowing her to come over and for helping her study. As she stood up from her chair, she accidentally knocked her bag over, spilling all its contents on the floor.

_Smooth moves there, Airi…_

Embarrassed, she quickly grabbed everything around her, stuffed it into her bag, and made her way out the door, saying goodbye to Keiji and his mother.

Once she was out of view, Keiji went back over to the table they had been sitting at to pick up his own things, when he noticed a folder with papers in it on the floor. Airi must've missed it when it fell on the floor. He knew it was rude to rummage through another person’s things, but convincing himself that it was his duty to make sure nothing important was inside, he opened up the folder. The papers inside gave Akaashi a weird feeling inside.

“...Huh?”


	9. The Story Un-folders

Monday morning Airi walked into school and made her way to class. Before she got there, she was met by Akaashi.

“Good morning, Keiji!: she said happily.

“Good morning, Airi. Can I, uh, talk to you for a second?” he said, the concerned tone in his voice instantly shifting Airi’s mood.

“Oh… uh sure,” she said, stepping to the side of the hall with him.

He looked down, then back up at Airi.

“Why did you lie to me?”

“W-w-what do you mean?”

_How did he know I was lying?!_

He sighed and handed her the folder he found yesterday. She opened it up and saw what she had left behind: all of her test papers. In her hands was the undeniable proof that Airi didn;t need help with her grades, especially in math.

“Keiji I-”

“You left that at my house yesterday. I’m not sure why you asked for my help. You clearly don’t need it.”

“Keiji I can explain-” she started, but could she? Doing so would blow her entire cover.

_I can’t just let him know my true intentions yet. Can I?_

Before she could even decide, Akaashi continued.

“You know…” he said looking down, a slight blush forming across his cheek, “you don’t have to act dumb around me, or anything like that…”

_No no that's not it at all! Tell him that, Airi!_

“That’s not why-”

Just then, Bokuto appeared next to her.

“Hey hey you two!! Whatcha talkin about??” he said resting his elbow on Airi’s shoulder. She shrugged him off.

_Terrible timing as always, Bokuto._

Akaashi’s sad expression soon grew more annoyed

“I see,” he said with a scarily deadpan expression. “Look if you just needed some tips to help Bokuto you also could have just asked.”

“Keiji that’s not it either, I swear!” Airi pleaded.

“It’s fine, Airi, really,” Akaashi said, in a tone convincing no one that was true. “I’ve got to get going, I’ll see you around.” With that he walked away.

“What was that about?” Bokuto asked.

Airi buried her face in her hands and let out a groan.

“I accidentally left the folder with my test scores at his house.... Now he knows I was lying about needing his help. Ugh, I should've just been honest with him!”

“Hey hey,” Bokuto said, trying his best to comfort her, “don’t freak out yet. Besides that, how did everything go yesterday?”

“Everything was great! We talked and laughed and he even invited me to the volleyball tournament you guys are going to.”

“AYY thats good! I knew he’d want you to come!” Bokuto cheered.

“For a moment,” Airi continued sadly, “I thought that just maybe there really could be something between us.”

“Well you don’t sound happy about that.”

“Because everything is ruined now! I clearly hurt him by lying.”

“Now now, we can’t assume all hope is lost yet! Listen, I’ll talk to him at practice today. I refuse to let my newbie be sad!” Bokuto said. He hooked his arm around her neck and squeezed.

_I really wish he would stop that._

“Okay okay, OW!” Airi yelled pushing him off. “I don’t think you realize how strong you are.”

“I’ll just take that as a compliment,” Bokuto smirked.

“Can you talk to him after your practice though? I don’t need anyone else knowing about my feelings.”

“Relaaaaaax newbie, I won’t tell anyone else.”

“You promise? Because you did say that before telling Kuroo too...”

“I promise.”

“Thank you, Bokuto.”

“For what?”

“Always helping me out.”

Bokuto just smiled as they walked on to class.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“AKAASHI PICK UP THE PACE!” the coach yelled as the volleyball team went through their practices.

“Sorry, coach,” Akaashi replied quickly. It seemed it was going to be another day where he could just not keep focus. How could he? He couldn’t stop thinking about what happened between him and Airi. When he walked away he of course caught a glimpse of her sad expression. Had he been too harsh? Maybe, but at the same time she wasn’t exactly in the right. It was perplexing to him to say the least as to why she would try to deceive him like that. In the end, the only thing he could think of was she was trying to figure out new ways to help Bokuto study.

“It’s probably that,” he thought to himself.

Could it be possible that Airi had feelings for him like he did her? Sure, it had crossed his mind at one point, but now he was absolutely doubtful. Anyone could see how close Bokuto and her were. She was probably just trying to be nice to all his friends. Perhaps he was the fool all along for thinking he had a chance. Bokuto was always more popular with girls anyway. Maybe not popular per say, but he at least got their attention with his personality. Girls didn’t ever really notice Akaashi, why would any start now?

“LET’S NOT FORGET WE HAVE A TOURNAMENT COMING UP BOYS! SLACKING IS NOT AN OPTION!”

All the boys responded in agreement to their coach and finished practice for the day.

The team was making their way to the club room to change, and Akaashi could just barely hear the hushed conversation of his teammates behind him.

“Don’t say anything!”  
“I’ve got to say something.”  
“We’ve all been there, he’s got a point.”  
“I guess so, we are his teammates.”  
“Just try to be gentle”  
"All right I'm saying something."

“Hey Akaashi!” Konoha called out. “Are you sure you’re doing okay?”

“Yeah I’m fine,” Akaashi replied.

“Don’t try and bullshit me now,” Konoha continued. “You’ve been more distracted than Bokuto recently, and that’s saying something."

“STOP TALKING ABOUT ME LIKE I'M NOT HERE!!!” 

“Really, I’m okay, just had some extra stuff on my mind recently,” Akaashi said, trying to shrug the conversation off.

“Whatever you say bud, all I’m sayin is you just better bring your A-game to the tournament is all,” Konoha said.

“What Konoha MEANS to say,” Washio cut in, “is that we’re worried about you.”

“And we’re totally here for you!” Komi added.

Akaashi smiled. “I’m okay, I swear. Thank you for being such a great team. We’re going to kill it at the tournament.”

The other boys let out a cheer as they gathered the rest of their things and made their way home

Soon Bokuto and Akaashi were the only ones left. Bokuto fidgeted with something his pocket for a second before turning to his friend.

“Hey Kaashi, can I ask you something?”

“Bokuto, like I told the others, I’m okay.” Akaashi said, still keeping his focus the other way.

“No no it’s not about that,” Bokuto said, “well I guess it kind of is.”

“What do you mean?” Akaashi asked.

“What’s going on with you and Airi?”

This caught Akaashi’s attention immediately.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Come on, do I really have to spell it out to YOU?” Bokuto asked, getting a little annoyed at his friend’s obliviousness.

Akaashi picked up on his attitude and matched it.

“I guess not so YOU have to explain it.” he said harshly.

Bokuto was taken back a little by Akaashi’s tone.

“Akaashi… do you have feelings for Airi?”

Silence.

Akaashi didn’t know what to say to him. No one had ever asked a question like that out loud to him. Of course he had feelings for her. He couldn’t deny it to himself anymore. He wanted to tell her how he felt, but after hearing Bokuto’s question, the only images he could produce of Airi in his mind were ones where Bokuto was at her side. How happy they both looked. There had to be something there, right? Akaashi was sure Airi liked Bokuto, and he couldn’t mess anything up for his best friend like that.

He looked Bokuto right in the eye.

“...No. I don’t.”

Before Bokuto could get another word out, Akaashi turned and left. Bokuto stood alone for a second, trying to process what he was so sure wasn’t the case. He then jumped and reached into his pocket and quickly pulled out his phone. He spoke into it.

“Newbie! T-t-that can’t be the truth! He’s lying I’m sure of it! Don’t listen to what he just said! I can fix this I promise!....Newbie?”

With no response, he clicked to end the call that had started when he and Akaashi's conversion began. Bokuto slumped down. Maybe he had used up all of his good plans.


End file.
